Patty Duke

She was 16 years old when she won the supporting actress Oscar for her portrayal of blind and deaf Helen Keller in 1962s The Miracle Worker. She also played the role on Broadway for two years opposite Anne Bancrofts Annie Sullivan. Bancroft also won the lead actress Oscar for the movie. In 1963, she got her on ABC sitcom, The Patty Duke Show, in which she played a typical Brooklyn teenager and her subdued British cousin. The series ran for three seasons and she received an Emmy nomination. However, her life was far from happy. At the age of 8 her mother turned her care over to Dukes unscrupulous managers John and Ethel Ross. According to her memoir, they kept her a virtual prisoner and began giving her drugs and alcohol at the age of 13. When she freed herself of the Rosses at age 18, she discovered they had spent most of he earnings. In 1982, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and has been an advocate for mental health. Duke has continued to work, receiving Emmys for her work in such TV films as My Sweet Charlie, the miniseries Captains and the Kings and for a TV version of The Miracle Worker, in which she took on the Anne Sullivan role. Her son is Lord of the Rings star Sean Astin.

She was 16 years old when she won the supporting actress Oscar for her portrayal of blind and deaf Helen Keller in 1962s The Miracle Worker. She also played the role on Broadway for two years opposite Anne Bancrofts Annie Sullivan. Bancroft also won the lead actress Oscar for the movie. In 1963, she got her on ABC sitcom, The Patty Duke Show, in which she played a typical Brooklyn teenager and her subdued British cousin. The series ran for three seasons and she received an Emmy nomination. However, her life was far from happy. At the age of 8 her mother turned her care over to Dukes unscrupulous managers John and Ethel Ross. According to her memoir, they kept her a virtual prisoner and began giving her drugs and alcohol at the age of 13. When she freed herself of the Rosses at age 18, she discovered they had spent most of he earnings. In 1982, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and has been an advocate for mental health. Duke has continued to work, receiving Emmys for her work in such TV films as My Sweet Charlie, the miniseries Captains and the Kings and for a TV version of The Miracle Worker, in which she took on the Anne Sullivan role. Her son is Lord of the Rings star Sean Astin. (Turner Entertainment Group)

She was 16 years old when she won the supporting actress Oscar for her portrayal of blind and deaf Helen Keller in 1962s The Miracle Worker. She also played the role on Broadway for two years opposite Anne Bancrofts Annie Sullivan. Bancroft also won the lead actress Oscar for the movie. In 1963, she got her on ABC sitcom, The Patty Duke Show, in which she played a typical Brooklyn teenager and her subdued British cousin. The series ran for three seasons and she received an Emmy nomination. However, her life was far from happy. At the age of 8 her mother turned her care over to Dukes unscrupulous managers John and Ethel Ross. According to her memoir, they kept her a virtual prisoner and began giving her drugs and alcohol at the age of 13. When she freed herself of the Rosses at age 18, she discovered they had spent most of he earnings. In 1982, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and has been an advocate for mental health. Duke has continued to work, receiving Emmys for her work in such TV films as My Sweet Charlie, the miniseries Captains and the Kings and for a TV version of The Miracle Worker, in which she took on the Anne Sullivan role. Her son is Lord of the Rings star Sean Astin.Turner Entertainment Group